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Using and preserving the harvest: frozen lemon zucchini bars.

My mother made sheets and sheets of lemon zucchini bars every summer because they freeze well and actually taste even BETTER frozen. She got this recipe from our next door neighbor, a lady named Bev who had seven children and also made enormous quantities of these to feed her brood. Like with the mock apple pie filling, these taste like apple, not zucchini.

My eldest daughter recalls being around four years old and eating one of these at my mother’s house, unaware that the filling was zucchini. My mother asked her how she liked it and when she said, “It’s yummy!”, my mom told her what was really in it. Then my daughter refused to eat any more of it. 🙂 Kids are silly that way. But she likes them now, so my advice is just don’t tell your kids what’s in them. Let them assume whatever they want about the filling!

Ingredients:

8 or 9 medium zucchinis, peeled, cut in half, seeded, and sliced

1 1/3 c lemon juice

2 c sugar

1/2 t nutmeg

1 t cinnamon

1 cup crushed mix (see below)

Crushed Mix

6 c flour

3 c sugar

3/4 t salt

2 1/2 c butter

1 1/2 t cinnamon

Directions

Mix all dry ingredients for crushed mix, then cut in butter with a pastry cutter or fork until mixture is crumbly:

Pat 1/2 the mixture into an ungreased 11X16 pan or large cookie sheet with sides. Bake at 350 degrees for about ten minutes, just until set looking.

Mix all filling ingredients and bring to a boil and simmer for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Pour zucchini mixture onto baked crust and spread to the edges, leaving a small edge of crust. Sprinkle remaining crushed mix over filling. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until top just begins to brown a bit.

After the pan cools completely, cut into bars with a sharp knife.

I layer the bars between sheets of wax paper in a large Tupperware container and store it in our basement freezer. You can also store some in the refrigerator for immediate consumption. They taste best chilled in my opinion.